What’s new & noteworthy on DVD/Blu-ray – November 6, 2012

Happy Election Day, everyone! If the all-day news coverage gets to be too much for you, here are some newly released Blu-rays and DVDs that you can check out while you wait for the results!

The Amazing Spider-Man – Technically releasing on Friday, November 9, The Amazing Spider-Man wasn’t as warmly received in theaters as distributor Sony was hoping, but for my money, it’s actually the best Spider-Man movie to date. Not only does it finally capture the real feel of the comic books, but the cast is terrific and the visual effects are amazing. As a lifelong Spidey fan, this is the movie I’ve been waiting for.

Arthur Christmas – A fun CGI kids’ adventure movie that should be a hit for the holiday season, Arthur Christmas is available in regular 2D and also a 3D Blu-ray edition. With a great voice cast that includes James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Eva Longoria, Joan Cusack, and more, the film should see some good rotation on kids’ TVs this holiday season.

They Live: Collector’s Edition – John Carpenter’s unadulterated cult classic, in which Rowdy Roddy Piper utters the immortal line, “I have come her to chew bubble gum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubble gum.” Plus, witness the longest fistfight in cinema history in this underrated sci-fi B-movie classic. This new Collector’s Edition comes with all-new artwork and some great new special features, making it a must-have for fans.

Fire With Fire – A surprisingly good direct-to-video thriller, Fire With Fire stars Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent D’Onofrio in an amazingly menacing turn as a truly bad guy. Don’t be fooled by Fifty Cent on the cover; he’s in the movie for all of two minutes. This is a good one to check out when you’re in the mood for some mindless action that doesn’t suck.

Rashomon – Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece is not only one of the hghest regarded films of all time, but also created a movie storytelling technique, in which the same events are told from different characters’ points of view, to different results each time. This Criterion Collection release is available on Blu-ray and DVD and comes loaded with extra features.

Entourage: The Complete Series – All eight seasons of HBO’s hit series are collected into one massive box set (well, two really, as it’s available on Blu-ray or DVD) just in time for the holidays. For my money, few shows were as entertaining, funny, endearing, and just plain cool as Entourage was, and this is a fitting way to celebrate the show’s final run.

[REC] 3 – The hit Spanish-language zombie (but not really zombie) franchise continues, and this third effort is surprisingly strong. Straying from the found footage style that the first two movies pioneered, [REC] 3 manages to bring something new to the franchise while still retaining the flavor of the first two movies. I love these flicks, and as long as they stay this good, I hope they keep making them.

— Also available on Blu-ray and DVD this week: The Muppets Christmas Carol 20th anniversary Edition is out on DVD and Blu-ray; Billy WIlder’s classic Sunset Boulevard makes its Blu-ray debut; Planes, Trains, & Automobiles comes to Blu-ray and is available everywhere (it was previously a Best Buy exclusive); cult werewolf show Wolf Lake: The Complete Series hits DVD, and features early performances from The Vampire Diaries‘ Paul Wesley and geek goddess Mary Elizabeth Winstead; Your Sister’s Sister earned rave reviews and stars Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass; and ’70s TV staple The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams: Season One is out on DVD. —